有些人觉得年轻时应该多锻炼身体，年纪大了再开始锻炼可能就没什么用了。而学术刊物《循环》（Circulation）发表的英国的一项研究显示，即便是50岁才开始锻炼身体，坚持锻炼者的一些健康指标也会好于运动量不够的人群。
英国伦敦大学学院等机构的研究人员报告说，他们对4000多名中老年人进行了为期10年的跟踪调查，调查对象在研究开始时平均年龄约49岁。
调查显示，其中约一半人的运动量达到推荐标准，即每周超过2.5小时从事运动强度中等或更剧烈的体育锻炼。这种运动强度的直观体现是锻炼时心跳加速并可能出汗，跑步、打球等许多运动方式都能达到这样的强度。
研究人员分析了受调查人群的健康指标，与不怎么爱运动的人相比，运动量达标者体内的C反应蛋白等与发炎相关的指标性物质含量更低。发炎通常被认为与心血管病风险有关，而心血管病是老年人常患的疾病，因此上述结果也说明坚持锻炼的人群身体情况普遍更好。
参与这项研究的马克·哈默说，以前有关锻炼能保护心脏的研究多是短期的，本次研究持续10年，证实了锻炼的长期效果，并且这种效果在50多岁的年龄较大者身上也能体现出来。这些人即将退休，如果能利用退休后的空闲时间多锻炼身体，会对健康很有好处。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.103879
PMC:
PMID:
Physical Activity and Inflammatory Markers Over 10 Years: Follow-Up in Men and Women from the Whitehall II Cohort Study
Mark Hamer1*; Severine Sabia1; G. David Batty1; Martin J. Shipley1; Adam G. Tabàk2; Archana Singh-Manoux3; Mika Kivimaki1
Background—Inflammatory processes are putative mechanisms underlying the cardio-protective effects of physical activity. An inverse association between physical activity and inflammation has been demonstrated but no long-term prospective data are available. We therefore examined the association between physical activity and inflammatory markers over a 10-year follow-up period. Methods and Results—Participants were 4289 men and women (mean age 49.2 years) from the Whitehall II cohort study. Self-reported physical activity and inflammatory markers (serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [CRP] and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) were measured at baseline (1991) and follow-up (2002). Forty-nine percent of the participants adhered to standard physical activity recommendations for cardiovascular health (2.5 hours per week moderate to vigorous physical activity) across all assessments. Physically active participants at baseline had lower CRP and IL6 levels and this difference remained stable over time. In comparison to participants that rarely adhered to physical activity guidelines over the 10 years follow-up, the high adherence group displayed lower logeCRP (β=-0.07, 95% CI, -0.12, -0.02) and logeIL-6 (β=-0.07, 95% CI, -0.10, -0.03) at follow up after adjustment for a range of covariates. Compared to participants that remained stable, those that reported an increase in physical activity of at least 2.5 hours/wk displayed lower loge CRP (B coefficient =-0.05, 95% CI, -0.10, -0.001) and loge IL-6 (B coefficient =-0.06, 95% CI, -0.09, -0.03) at follow up. Conclusions—Regular physical activity is associated with lower markers of inflammation over 10 years of follow-up and thus may be important in preventing the pro-inflammatory state seen with ageing.
